Premier, Siksika residents get closer look at damage

Erika Stark, Calgary Herald07.03.2013

Premier Alison Redford talked with Siksika Chief Fred Rabbit Carrier during a tour of the evacuation centre and a look at the flood-damaged areas of the reserve on Tuesday.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

Premier Alison Redford, second from left, talked with Siksika Chief Fred Rabbit Carrier, in red, and other band members during a tour Tuesday of the evacuation centre and a look at the flood-damaged areas of the reserve.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

Premier Alison Redford talked with Siksika Chief Fred Rabbit Carrier during a tour of the evacuation centre and a look at the flood-damaged areas of the reserve on Tuesday.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

Premier Alison Redford talked with Siksika Chief Fred Rabbit Carrier during a tour of the evacuation centre and a look at the flood-damaged areas of the reserve on Tuesday.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

Hidden Valley residents spoke with Aboriginal Relations Minister Ronin Campbell outside the evacuation centre at the Siksika reserve on Tuesday. The reserve was hard hit in the recent Bow River Flooding.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

Premier Alison Redford took a minute to talk alone with Siksika Chief Fred Rabbit Carrier during a tour Tuesday of the evacuation centre and a look at the flood-damaged areas of the reserve.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

Premier Alison Redford talked with Siksika Chief Fred Rabbit Carrier during a tour of the evacuation centre and a look at the flood-damaged areas of the reserve on Tuesday.Colleen De Neve
/ Calgary Herald

SIKSIKA NATION — Premier Alison Redford and displaced Siksika Nation residents got a first look Tuesday at the flood damage at the reserve located about 80 kilometres southeast of Calgary.

Houses are empty in the community of Little Washington, with many living in tents on higher ground as the Siksika community copes with the aftermath of the June floods that tore through southern Alberta and led to the evacuation of more than 1,000 people. Here, the Bow River breached its banks and flooded the valley, in some places reaching the roofs of houses.

Four low-lying communities along the Bow River — Little Washington, Little Chicago, South Camp and North Camp — were the most populated areas ravaged on the reserve.

Hidden Valley Resort, a golf resort on Siksika land, also flooded.

Building assessments have been completed and Siksika residents were able to view their homes by bus. Cleanup hasn’t started yet because there are no storage facilities for personal belongings and other things that may have been destroyed by the flood, Rabbit Carrier said.

“At least it will start some closure and start the process of healing,” he said of the bus tours.

ATCO will construct a temporary accommodation facility on the reserve for evacuees who cannot return to their homes immediately. It should be complete within the month.

The visit was Redford’s first to the reserve since the flooding, and she promised that the provincial government would support Siksika’s cleanup and recovery efforts.

“Families have been impacted, communities have been impacted, and communities are rallying to come together,” she said in a brief scrum after the tour. “But it’s not going to be enough. We’re going to need roads, we’re going to need bridges, we’re going to need houses and we’re going to need them soon.”

On Tuesday, Siksika began processing the pre-loaded debit cards that are being handed out by the province to flood victims, Campbell said. Displaced residents on the reserve will also be eligible for the disaster recovery funding announced earlier this week, which covers uninsurable property damage and losses.

Campbell said that the federal government has also promised support, but that the province “isn’t waiting” for them.

“We have people in need and that we’re going to fix the problem,” he said.

Following their tour of the evacuation centre, the premier, minister and chief went to see some of the hardest hit areas on the reserve, including Little Washington.

A handful of Hidden Valley residents came to the evacuation centre while Redford and Campbell were there, demanding to know when they would receive support from Siksika and the province.

“Why is Hidden Valley being singled out?” asked one woman.

Campbell said the focus right now is on primary residences on Siksika, but that Hidden Valley residents will also be taken care of.

“We’re doing the same thing we’ve done in every community,” said Campbell. “The premier has made it clear that we’ll look after the people in this province and we’ll do that.”

Residents whose primary home was damaged by the flood are eligible for the debit card and disaster recovery funding, provincial spokesperson Neala Barton said.

There’s no timeline yet on how long recovery on the reserve might take, but Rabbit Carrier said he’s thankful for the support Siksika has received from other First Nations, volunteers, and the province.

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